The WHO Office on Quality of Care and Patient Safety in Athens and the WHO Country Office in Albania have joined forces to support the Ministry of Health and Social Protection (MoHSP) of Albania in improving quality of care and enhancing patient safety in the country.
The WHO European Programme of Work, 2020–2025 – “United Action for Better Health” (EPW) sets out a vision of how WHO/Europe can work with health authorities in Member States to achieve better health for all in the Region. Inspired by the EPW, the Athens Office is committed to providing universal access to people-centred quality health services across the continuum of care.
Albania’s health-care system places great emphasis on education and monitoring to ensure that health-care professionals and institutions deliver high-quality, safe services. Albania has made significant strides towards bolstering the quality of care available to its citizens by establishing the Agency of Health and Social Care Quality Assurance (ASCK), which operates under a long-term strategy aimed at providing exceptional health and social care services based on the highest standards.
The visit
On 3–6 April 2023, a delegation of experts from the MoHSP and ASCK will be visiting Greece and collaborating with the WHO Athens Office, sharing knowledge and experience on innovations to enhance various aspects of quality of care and patient safety in Albania. To facilitate this, a comprehensive plan has been proposed for 2022–2023 for enhancing quality of care and patient safety in Albania, in alignment with the Albanian National Health Strategy for 2021–2030. The plan encompasses several workstreams, with a particular focus on strengthening the ASCK and improving patient safety.
The primary objective of this mission is to introduce experts to the vision and strategy of the WHO Athens Office for enhancing the quality of care in the European Region. Additionally, the mission seeks to provide insights into the Greek context of quality of care and patient safety, which could be useful in developing innovative solutions to address Albania’s health-care challenges.
Other specific objectives are as follows:
- to understand recent reforms in primary care in Greece, such as the establishment of the personal doctor;
- to enhance familiarity with the electronic prescribing system and the available protocols for prescribing medication;
- to better understand continuous medical and nursing education and the corresponding accreditation systems inGreece;
- to engage, co-create, prioritize and agree on the next steps and way forward.
The visit programme features a high-level political meeting on 3 April at the Ministry of Health of Greece. Additionally, the delegation will visit health-care centres and hospitals in Athens throughout the week.